Alaska Air flight returns to Sea-Tac Airport after possible Boeing engine shutdown
Aug 26, 2024, 2:35 PM
FILE - A Boeing 737 Max jet prepares to land at Boeing Field following a test flight in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)
(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)
Boeing mechanical issues continue to crop up. This one was over the weekend when an Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to Oakland returned to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac Airport) after the crew reported a possible engine issue.
Flight 1240 landed safely in Seattle at around 1:30 p.m. local time on Sunday. The FAA reported the Boeing 737-700 was headed to San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport.
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According to an airline spokesperson who spoke to KIRO 7, the engine on the left wing — one of the aircraft’s two main engines — shut down.
“Credit to the crew for following standard procedures for this situation and landing safely and without incident. We took care of our guests and they arrived in Oakland at 5:35 p.m. We apologize for the inconvenience of the delay,” the spokesperson said.
A passenger on the flight told KIRO 7 the experience was terrifying, but said the pilots did great.
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Boeing has had six mechanical issues over the past year, according to the Washington Post. Most notably among them, a door plug fell out of a Boeing 737 Max 9 in midair flying over Oregon in January.
In addition, a Boeing 737 Max 8 in Houston made an emergency return after flames were seen coming from an engine. An engine failed midflight on an Atlas Air cargo carrier. A landing-gear tire fell off a United Airlines Boeing 777 during takeoff from San Francisco.
Boeing stopped test flights of a new version of its 777 jetliner after finding a damaged structural part between the engine and the rest of the plane. The aerospace company delayed production at its Renton factory due to a problem with a junction box that transmits power from the main power source to the plane’s electrical equipment.
The FAA will investigate the most recent incident.
Contributing: KIRO 7
Bill Kaczaraba is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here. Follow Bill on X here and email him here.
